Sappho was an archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known
for her lyric poetry, written to be sung and accompanied by a lyre. Most of
Sappho's poetry is now lost, and what is extant has survived only in
fragmentary form, except for one complete poem – the "Ode to
Aphrodite".

Sappho was an
ancient Greek female poet who wrote lyrical poetry famous for its intense
passion and description of love. Being born on the Isle of Lesbos she is also
referred to as the first Lesbian poet.

Little is
known of her actual life, though she was born around 620BC, and died
approximately 50 years later.

Unfortunately,
much of her poetry has been lost, although some poems have been painstakingly
pieced together through surviving fragments.

Details of her
life are hard to piece together as there are few reliable sources. For example,
historians are unsure about whether to take her poetry as reliable
autobiographical evidence.

However,
evidence from the period suggests she was temporarily exiled to Sicily because
of political troubles on the island of Lesbos.

Sapphos is
sometimes referred to as a lesbian. The word lesbian is actually derived from
her place of birth – lesbos. However, there is no hard evidence about her
sexuality. Her poems express great passion for a variety of people – both men
and women; they may have been autobiographical or not.

A philosopher
Maximus of Tyre wrote that the friendships of Sappho were similar to those of
Socrates – suggesting Sappho had a circle of like-minded friends brought
together by a love of art, poetry and culture. It has been suggested, with
little authority, that Sappho may have been the head of some formal academy
like a school. However, it is more likely to be a less formal circle of
friends.

Poetry of Sappho

The
poetry of Sappho often revolves around themes of love and passion, and has a
clarity and simplicity of language; within her poems, there is great vividness
and directness. The style is often conversational – giving an impression of
immediacy and action. The poems were also sung to music, meaning they needed to
be lyrical in form.

Clancy's comment: She was born a hell of a long time ago, and here she is on my blog. Wonders never cease, eh?

I've probably featured these critters before, but I love ' em. The
meerkat or suricate is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats
are tremendous diggers and can dig up their own body weight in earth in only a
couple of seconds

Quick Facts

Type: Mammal

Diet: Omnivore

Lifespan: 12-14 years

Size: 25-30 cm long
excluding tail

Weight: Under 1 kg

Habitat: Arid plains and
deserts

Range: Southern Africa

Scientific name: Suricata
suricatta

Facts About the Meercat

Meerkats are extremely
social, and often groom or play with each other. They tend to live in
groups (‘gangs’ or ‘mobs’) of around 20 individuals, although far larger
groups are not uncommon.

Meerkat groups use several
different burrows, moving between them regularly. The burrows have a range
of tunnels and different ‘rooms’, and allow the meerkats to remain cool
during hot periods.

Meerkats have highly
developed senses of smell, hearing and vision. The black bands around the
eyes help protect them from the glare of the African sun. They also have
specific vocalisations to communicate different information such
as type of approaching predator.

When groups are out
foraging, individuals will take turns acting as sentinels. A sentinel will
stand on his/her hind legs and scan the area for potential danger and will
make an alarm call if a predator is spotted, warning the group members and
allowing for a fast getaway.

Meerkats are tremendous
diggers and can dig up their own body weight in earth in only a couple of
seconds.

Meerkats enjoy sun-bathing!
In the morning when they come out from their burrows they will often spend
time simply standing-up and warming themselves by the sun’s rays.

Meerkat groups have a highly developed social
structure, with individuals playing various important roles in the
community. For example babysitters will remain with young pups while the
rest of the gang are out foraging, and elder meerkats will take
responsibility for mentoring the young, teaching them how to forage and to
be alert to danger.

Researchers from the
University of Cambridge studying meerkat groups in the Kalahari Desert
have acknowledged that meerkats have “traditions” which are passed
down generation to generation.

Scientists have found that
some meerkat groups are particularly lazy and will routinely rise later,
whereas others will get up and leave their burrows far earlier. Laziness
and liveliness are therefore culturally biased in meerkats.

Meerkats’ highly cooperative
social behaviour has seen many firms using meerkats as examples in
workplace training workshops to encourage more team-spirit and cooperative
working. The project ‘All for One – The Meerkat Way’ is being used by over
a thousand industry-leading companies.